After you've tested and if it doesn't get better I would def +1 to having Tom Brantley do a rewind. He's very reasonable and you'll get exactly what you need.
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A Quandary? (Rickenbacker Content)
- Thread starter BigBoneRed
- Start date
The Classic Amplificaiton web page for Ric pickups has this text: "Please remember I am retired now, and only make some pickups in my spare time!"
Repair the wiring and / or the original pickup. Sounds like otherwise its a great bass that you already get along with.
oh just fix it already ;-)
if i were in that same boat with my '79, i'd probably do the "yank everything out and put it in a drawer, and buy new stuff" maneuver. ive been curious about the Joe Barden pickup set. i did do the bypass mod on my bridge pup and never looked back.
if i were in that same boat with my '79, i'd probably do the "yank everything out and put it in a drawer, and buy new stuff" maneuver. ive been curious about the Joe Barden pickup set. i did do the bypass mod on my bridge pup and never looked back.
Yeah, this. So I have an '85, and knew nothing about "the cap" until RIc added the "vintage/modern" push pull pot to their newer basses. So I looked into it, and decided to pop the hood on mine and.....no cap. SO I went and bought one, and a mini toggle, and ADDED it in, with the toggle for bypass.
As soon as I heard it with the cap in the circuit, I was like "ah.....now it sounds MORE Ric"!
I'd say I play it 90% with the cap in the circuit. And yeah, solo'd I might think the pickup was failing.......LOL.
Seymour Duncan Custom Shop will rewind your pickup to its original spec. You want to keep the Ric sonic character, I would think.
The "tone suck" capacitor, as someone called it, lets you retain the pickup's original character. If you want that gritty, Squire thing, the filtered bridge PU is part of the equation.
Modern Rics have push/pull bypass of that cap on the tone control, as JMacBass65 points out. It's a worthwhile mod that provides more usable tones across many music styles. You know Duncan will do the right thing.
The "tone suck" capacitor, as someone called it, lets you retain the pickup's original character. If you want that gritty, Squire thing, the filtered bridge PU is part of the equation.
Modern Rics have push/pull bypass of that cap on the tone control, as JMacBass65 points out. It's a worthwhile mod that provides more usable tones across many music styles. You know Duncan will do the right thing.
Stock Ric Pickups are pretty notorious for having unbalanced output, that was really noticeable on my 78' 4001. I've read the story about Chris's bridge pickup dying on him, including his direct quotes from various interviews, so I have no reason to doubt it. I have heard of people having the old horse-shoes re-gaussed, but it doesn't always work. The Classic Amplification replacement Ric pickups have a very good reputation on TB, they use aluminum base plates instead of plastic, better lead dress, etc. The wiring on current production stock Ric Hi-Gains is very fragile, and frankly kind of sloppy. If it turns out to be a dead pickup, these might be your best option. AFAIK they will still "tune" a set of pickups to your preference as well.
www.classicamplification.com
Pickups
There is a "rig rundown" video with Squire going through his gear with the reviewer. The bass you are talking about, his original Rick, predated the 4001 and was the one he was famous for playing. Said he bought it in Europe in about 1967. Covered it with wallpaper, later had that removed, wallpapered it again, had that removed. By that time so much wood had been removed that the luthier told him not to do it again, but he said the lightness of it was probably the reason for the tone of the bass. Squire said, in his words, "the output from the bridge p'up has always been a little weak and tinny." he did not mention it being dead and never mentioned any repairs, said he kept it that way, and when Rick borrowed the bass to measure outputs when trying to produce the exact tone the ending result did not equal the tone of his original, which he preferred. He kept a second Rick 4001 which had his face stenciled on it, as a backup if anything went wrong with the primary Rick.
The video was posted on TB not that long ago.
Writers of articles often misquote or mangle facts, but this video is in Squires own words, IRL.
As a past owner of a '72 4001, which was my sole bass for 12 years in 70's and early 80's, there is nothing normally wrong with the bridge p'up output level. Yours needs to be fixed, or the p'up rewound, or replaced. Possibly a loose connection somewhere.
The video was posted on TB not that long ago.
Writers of articles often misquote or mangle facts, but this video is in Squires own words, IRL.
As a past owner of a '72 4001, which was my sole bass for 12 years in 70's and early 80's, there is nothing normally wrong with the bridge p'up output level. Yours needs to be fixed, or the p'up rewound, or replaced. Possibly a loose connection somewhere.
The pickup was apparently replaced with a modern Ric pickup from the factory, but then Squire didn't like it and had Tobias put the original back in: How Chris Squire got his iconic bass tone
Chris probably had a demagnitised Horseshoe, while yours might be a weak Hi-Gain. I'd get a replacement one from either OE (the new adjustable ones that are jotter but good sounding), Classic Amplification or Retrovibe. Meanwhile I'd also add the vintage cap push/pull switch, so you can switch between a 1980s and 1990s Rickenbacker 4003 sound, or solo the bridge pickup for the 4000 sound.
I voted to fix it. My 80' ric the neck pickup is about 25 % louder than the bridge. I'm not playing it much right now, but sounds good enough for me. I'll get it fixed when Steve Howe asks me to join the band.
you can always turn down/off a normal pickup, but you can never turn up a low output pickup. i say fix
It should be noted that for the 4000 sound, you'll need the "cap" bypassed.
TYVM~
Bought the push/pull kit a little while back, awaiting install.
TYVM~
Definitely on my list of options..
Plus, I have a line on an unused OE bridge PU, still in the package, for a possible trade deal.
Some Rics would most likely benefit from being gutted and upgraded, the electronics in my (old) Japan copy seem to be more "robust", and
still work perfectly, including stereo function.
Joe Barden has the option to buy single p'ups for either neck or bridge pos. on the website..
Rio Grande Pickups, (of ROBIN GUITARS fame), has an interesting offering for Ric's..
Found no reviews, or other info about it..
RICKSHAW $180.00
"Classic humbucking bass tone a la our Pitbull model, made to fit a Rickenbacker bass".
Found no reviews, or other info about it..
RICKSHAW $180.00
"Classic humbucking bass tone a la our Pitbull model, made to fit a Rickenbacker bass".
That's why the switch. Cap in (switch up) for 70-80s 4003 tone, cap out (switch down) for 4000 or 90s 4003 tone.
